More Mud More Pigs

Do you know the book "Mrs Wishy Washy" by Joy Cowley?  I love it.  It's easy for the littlest ones to get involved recognizing the animals (can make their sounds), repeating the phrase 'wishy washy', and acting it out.
This week our water table is focused on the book. 

I pulled up a second table beside the water table put a tub on it for the animals.  The first couple of days I put sandy mud in the tub and then soapy water in the water table.  Added the three animals from the story, pig, cow and duck plus scrubbing brushes.  The children really were drawn to it.

 Oh the bubbles that we made with all the scrubbing.

And the parents enjoyed reading the story while they were playing.

The scrubbing was fun but watching how the mud clings to the brush and then slides down the side of the tub is fascinating too.

Today I used the leftover chocolate pudding from yesterdays craft instead of the sandy mud.

It was creamier and smoother and still fun to wishy washy.

Pigs in Mud

This week we are all about pigs; The Three Little Pigs, Mrs Wishy Washy, Pigs Aplenty Pigs Galore, it's pigalicious.

Today we experienced mud painting at the art table. Well the pigs were painted and we drove vehicles through it.  The sensory experience for the children was wonderful to watch.  Some were very hesitant at first to get their hands dirty.  But I think the smooth feel draws them in to explore. Plus anything that involves cars is a big draw.

 Our mud was actually chocolate pudding (I mixed it with water instead of milk - didn't feel right wasting milk).  I encouraged the grown ups to call it mud and not pudding to reduce the chance of the little ones eating it.

 It didn't take long for the pigs and vehicles to dive into the container of mud left in the middle of the table.  We did a quick change to a flat container which became the pig pen.

 Oh what fun it is to move freely around the table (no chairs for this activity) and drive our tractors, cars and planes.  We could see the tracks they left behind.

Lovely mud.  It squishes between my fingers and glides down my hands. And the pigs love to bathe in it.

 See this one has a smile on it's face.

Airport Fieldtrip

Today we went on a fieldtrip to our local airport.  It was great.

This is Alex, he showed us all around.  Here he was explaining why he wears the bright jacket.

Our tour centered around our little pink suitcase.  We followed it.

At the check in counter, our little pink suitcase had to be weighed and ticketed.

It was ready to head off on it's journey.

We followed it to the baggage security where it went through a big xray machine.

After seeing what was inside our luggage it continued to the end of the conveyor belt.

Alex showed us the luggage cart,

and then outside to the tarmac,

this is the golf cart that pulls the luggage cart to the airplane.

We were so lucky to walk across the tarmac when this plane was being prepared.

The ramp was in place for the passengers,

More security workers were waiting for the all go signal.

The airplane was being refueled.

Finally the passengers could board the plane.

Alex showed us the extra fuel truck and how the big hose attaches to the plane.

Time to send our little pink suitcase inside.

Onto another conveyor belt from outside heading in.

We followed it,

and watched it go around and around,

before picking it up.

We also put it on the other conveyor belt that goes upstairs,

then it came down the big ramp.

Next we went into customs,

where Alex checked inside our suitcase to see that we didn't bring anything extra in to the country.

Then we went through security ourselves.

This young guy brought his own security wand and is showing us how it works.

We each had a turn to walk through and listened for a beep noise.

After security we took the elevator upstairs.

Not all of us could fit in the elevator at the same time, some of us had to wait for it to come back for us.

Yay, snack time in the board room to finish off the tour.

Some families weren't quite ready to leave so we watched for the next plane to arrive.

It didn't take long.

It was a great day at the airport - thanks Alex.